Josh Kelley: Just Say the Word!
Josh Kelley describes his latest song, Just Say the Word as his phase of full maturity. He said that he just woke up one morning wanting to be better at everything he did, and wrote Just Say the Word as a reflection of that goal. All of a sudden, he said, he wanted to play the guitar, drums, piano, and bass player and most of all to be a better singer and songwriter. The song is also the result of his past frustrations and “lost loves” and his way of expressing the sentiment that past loves will never be forgotten.
Thanks to Napster, Josh Kelley was discovered by a representative for Hollywood Records and landed a recording contract with that label. His first album, “For the Ride Home” was released in the summer 2003. It wasn’t an immediate hit, but it finally attracted the attention of listeners who liked his John Mayer sound. One of the songs in that album, “Amazing” was selected to be the soundtrack for the romantic comedy film Raising Helen. In 2005, Kelley worked on Almost Honest which featured the single “Only You”, co-penned with Matrix.
Like many singers and song composers, Josh Kelley started at 11 with his guitar. While he was a teenager, he and his brother Charles formed a band called Inside Blue. By the time he was 14, the band released a CD with five songs in it which led to a meeting with James Brown.
Kelley majored in Art at the University of Mississippi and was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Kelley’s singing style has been compared to that of Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Ben Harper. He maintains an affinity with Napster to help struggling artists get their careers off the ground.
Just say the Word is Kelley’s third album and there’s a lot of pride attached to it because it is the only album that he wrote, produced and sang all by himself. He has signed an agreement with Debbie Wilson, manager of Wilspro Management to market the new album differently. This resulted in Just Say the Word capturing # 27 position on iTunes Top Albums and some shows in Las Vegas. People Magazine called Kelley an authentic talent who harnesses all his emotions to express the pop rock genre.
Kelley is engaged to TV actress Katherine Heigl (of Gray’s Anatomy fame) and wrote a song for her – Katie’s Song.